Let’s be honest: winter and snow sports enthusiasts are like no other types of sporting enthusiasts in the world. And that’s especially true for snowboarders. They love the sunlight and fresh air, the individual challenges, the hardcore workout that goes with shredding, and they love the “cool-factor” – all of which leave waiting for the season’s first snowfall feeling like it’s just short of eternity.
The price for participating in winter’s powdery pageantry isn’t always for the faint-of-heart, though. It generally means traveling some insanely long distances to get to where the snow is. Not to mention spending just under a king’s ransom on accommodations and lift tickets.
Imagine, however, if there were an activity that packed all the attributes of snowboarding – the sun, the fresh air, the challenge, the workout, and the “cool” all into a year-round recreation that you could step out of your front door and (literally) straight onto, everyday? Well, step right up and introduce yourself to the world of summerboarding.
The summerboard in a nutshell
Summerboarding lets you enjoy a riding experience that encompasses all the thrill and skill of snowboarding, but without the snow. That means when it comes to boasting some of the most ideal skate parks, promenades and weather for owning and riding a quality summerboard Australia steps up in a way that few countries on the planet could possibly hope to.
The key to this equipment piece is in the battery-powered casters mounted beneath it that enable the board to turn and move freely in all directions, while relying on its outer wheels to provide a four-cornered balancing edge. It’s the “free movement” of the casters that allows the board to move either straightforward or laterally from its base, to perform drifting or carving turns, or to stop using its edges.
Know what it does is one thing; but the real question remains, though: what exactly is this board? And as awkward a description as it may be, it’s not incorrect to call it to a hybrid between a freeboard and an electric skateboard that performs exactly like a snowboard. With the advantage, however, that its being powered prevents it from being a strictly snowy, downhill recreation.
A summerboard can be ridden just as well on grass, packed dirt, or uneven surfaces as it can over perfectly flat ones. By “uneven surfaces,” that means it can also be ridden uphill on grades of up to 20° too. Make no mistake; not only do summerboards fill the gap for snowboarders who want to stay in shape and refine their techniques during the warm seasons, but they also open up a whole new dimension of stylized, all-terrain sport boarding that’s as exciting for veterans from other boarding disciplines as it is for new riders.
Summerboard bits
There are only three major components to a summerboard – but that exemplifies just how easy it is to get started with one, from the package to the parking lot.
The caster-mounted deck
With a deck length of 82cm, the summerboard’s Canadian maple deck also provides the base for its dual underside 3000w motorized casters, four outboard edge wheels, and top-centre battery. Weighing in at only 18lbs/8kg, a ready-to-ride board is capable of a top speed of 18mph/40kmh, which may not sound like much. Unless you consider a summerboard’s capable of 360° of movement, and a rider’s orientation may not always be toward the direction they’re headed in.
And unlike with snowboards, a rider isn’t attached to a summerboard. However, to improve toe-side and heel-side manoeuvrability while performing jumps and shreds that a rider might otherwise need to be attached to a board to do – along with giving beginners an added feel of confidence – adjustable foot holds can be mounted to the board, with the added benefit that stopping is still just as easy as stepping off.
The battery
The summerboard’s battery is a swappable 110v – 240v rechargeable unit with a 12 mile/20km limit that clicks into position atop the deck. Depending on the charger, these lithium-ion batteries only require four hours to go from a completely drained state to fully charged. Ideally, for longer shredding sessions, a rider would want to have a spare battery available and in a charged state at all times.
And, because the summerboard’s lithium-ion batteries are under the 160-watt-per-hour maximum imposed by most airlines, taking a board on vacation onboard an airplane is as easy as detaching the battery and placing it in your carry-on luggage. Packing the board itself is no more difficult than a snowboard, and it can be taken and ridden absolutely anywhere.
The wireless remote
The summerboard’s smart, handheld remote syncs with the caster motors to track and control the rider’s speed (or to apply electronic braking if requested) and to monitor the battery’s charge level. These remotes are ruggedly constructed, ergonomic, and accept convenient USB charging.
Beyond the basic kit, however, there’s an impressive complement of spare parts and accessories that can be had with summerboards. Ranging from differing composition and special LED-lit wheels, to replacement belt drives and higher amperage chargers to shorten recharge times from four hours to two and a half, there’s a full array of gear available to transform summerboarding into a sport that’s extreme enough to rival anything you’ll get in the snow. How’s that’s for a stylishly serious workout?
The summerboard wrap-up
It’d be easy to try to sum up summerboarding as a substitute for snowboarding – or as skateboarding on steroids – but there’s so much more to it than that.
Summerboarding’s an activity that combines a host of boarding disciplines into one, with the advantage that no special conditions have to be met to jump right into it. In fact, with terrain as diverse as you please, from the perfect flat topography of Melbourne to the rightly hilly areas around Sydney, if you own a summerboard Australia is about as perfect a location as it gets to put it through all its paces.
And there’s no need for snow. If you don’t feel like waiting for snow and would love to be able to get your shred on any day of the week, now’s the time to get into the sport. You won’t regret it!
